Live Nation stock is expected to follow a strong trend from 2023 to 2024

Live Nation Entertainment Inc. NYSE: LIE is the world leader in live music and entertainment events. Live Nation is massive in scale with a rock-solid moat as it promoted over 50,000 live events for over 145 million fans in 2023, generating $22.7 billion in revenue, up 36% year-over-year. Pent-up demand for live events exploded in 2023 when Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour became the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, followed by Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour which came in as the eighth^th highest tour gross of all time.

All indications point to an even stronger 2024.

The consumer discretionary giant has received its share of controversy over its market dominance, fending off lawsuits and accusations of monopolistic and anticompetitive practices. The company competes with StubHub, AEG Presents and Eventbrite Inc. New York Stock Exchange: EB.

Vertical integration of the music industry

With ever-decreasing royalties tied to streaming music, artists are relying more than ever on live concert tours and merchandising to generate revenue. This secular advantage will continue to drive demand for Live Nation’s services. Its vertically integrated operations have three main segments: concerts, ticketing, sponsorship and advertising.

The Concerts segment generates the most revenue but provides the lowest margins. Its Ticketmaster ticketing operations have the widest margins. Its Advertising and Sponsorships further monetizes its concerts by selling advertising and sponsorships at the venues. The company also signs contracts with artists to promote and produce live concerts and tours. It provides artists access to large audiences and venues. Obtain AI-powered insights on MarketBeat.

Excellent results in terms of profits and profits for 2023

Live Nation issued a press release that primarily included full-year 2023 highlights. On February 22, 2024, Live Nation reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings per share of $1.37. Revenue increased 36.1% year over year to $5.83 billion, beating consensus estimates of $4.79 billion.

Full-year 2023 revenue increased 36% year-over-year to $22.7 billion. Operating profit rose 46% to $1.08 billion. Adjusted operating profit grew 32% year-over-year to $1.86 billion, doubling from 2019. Operating cash flow was $1.4 billion, with available cash up 20% to 1.1 billion dollars. The company ended the year with $6.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents, including $1.5 billion in ticketing cash and $2.2 billion in free cash. Almost 87% of the debt is fixed rate, with an average cost of 4.7%.

Metrics for the full year 2023

Live Nation provided a review of various metrics for 2023. Concert attendance increased 20% year-over-year to more than 145 million fans attending more than 50,000 events. International artists increased by 50% in the top 50 tours and have an average of 15% more share. Fan spending increased by double digits across all major venue types, including amphitheaters, festivals, clubs and theaters. Sponsorship revenues increased 13% year over year to more than $1 billion.

Strong tailwinds for 2024

Leading indicators point to a strong 2024. Live Nation says 90% of live music viewers attribute watching live music content on social media as driving their desire to attend shows. Live Nation concert ticket sales are up 6%, with 57 million tickets sold for shows this year. There is strong demand across all price points, with the theater experiencing high demand and ticket sales up 25% year-on-year for the 2024 Lawnie Pass.

CEO Insights

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino noted that all-inclusive pricing is performing surprisingly well. There is no slowdown in ticket sales: “I see ticket sales on my daily sales counts. We just went on sale, man, in the last week on Usher, Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez announced Jelly Roll this morning. These shows are flying out the door from top to bottom. So yes, we are not seeing any slowdown on the consumer front.”

Rapino described a Drake show that was sold out both nights and with merchandise deemed reasonably high: “They were buying sales that included sweatshirts and site visits, and the general manager told me they were — we’re doing really strong numbers. So , we’re seeing in our current business that they’re buying and showing up all over the country and all over the world right now.”

Live Nation analyst ratings and price targets I’m on MarketBeat. Live Nation contestants and contestants titles can be found at MarketBeat Stock Screener.

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The daily candlestick chart on LYV illustrates a cup pattern. The cup lip line formed at $101.58 on July 28, 2023. Shares continued to sell off following the Q2 2023 earnings report, hitting a swing low of $76.48 on October 27, 2023. LYV it formed a rounded bottom as it moved higher to $93.88 ahead of its Q4 2023 earnings release.

The strong report sent shares soaring to the lip line peak at a high of $101.50 on February 23, 2024, before pulling back to $94.90 when it literally opened up and sucked that day. The daily relative strength index (RSI) continues to rise towards the 70 band. The pullback support levels are at $91.42, $86.88, $81.38, and $76.48.

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